Three-dimensional printing apparatus

Abstract

A three-dimensional printing apparatus including a tank filled with a liquid-state forming material, a platform disposed at the tank, a rotating shaft, a rotating arm, and at least one light source is provided. The rotating shaft is disposed under the tank or above the tank. The rotating arm connects to the rotating shaft such that the rotating arm is driven by the rotating shaft to rotate. The light source disposed on the rotating arm rotates along with the rotating arm and generates light projecting toward the forming material along with the part of the platform moving in the forming material, such that the forming material is solidified in layers and forms a three-dimensional object on the platform.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 164,276 filed on Jan. 27, 2014 which claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 102142348, filed on Nov. 20, 2013. The entirety of each of the above-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The invention relates to a printing apparatus, and particularly relates to a three-dimensional printing apparatus.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]With the continuous development of science and technology, various methods using the additive manufacturing technology to construct three-dimensional (3-D) models have been proposed. Generally speaking, the additive manufacturing technology converts design data of three-dimensional models constructed with computer-aided design software, for example, into a plurality o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015]Accordingly, in the exemplary embodiments, the light source is disposed on the rotating arm, such that the light trace provided by the light source on the rotating arm may be a curve on the radiation plane of the liquid-state forming material when the rotating arm rotates relative to the rotating shaft. Accordingly, the light source is allowed to irradiate the liquid-state forming material in a curved profile and consequently prevents the sawtoothed structure caused by the back-and-forth linear scanning, making the three-dimensional object printed according to the exemplary embodiments have a preferable appearance.

Problems solved by technology

However, as the current light sources for solidifying materials are mainly laser light sources, a focal length between the laser light source and the target of irradiation is required due to the limitation of the optical element required by the laser light source.

Such scanning manner may produce a sawtoothed structure in the surface profile when scanning an arc or curved profile, resulting in an undesirable influence on the appearance.

Thus, modifying the undesirable appearance now becomes an important issue for the artisans of this field.

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